HEALTHBEAT

Sarah Ravits

East Jefferson General Hospital has added Dr. Zhen Jiao, left, to Jefferson Electrophysiology. Jiao, who returned to the city from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is working alongside Dr. James McKinnie, right; the pair hopes to set new standards of care for atrial-fibrillation, otherwise known as an irregular heartbeat. While this illness has often previously required a lifetime of medication, Jiao and McKinnie are working on new technology and treatment that could omit this.

Four nurses from the Interim LSU Public Hospital were among the Great 100 Nurses honored by the Great 100 Nurses Foundation at its 26th annual celebration, which was held in the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. Kimberly Barcia, Claudia Celestand, Cynthia Gould and Amanda Theriot were among those chosen to be this year’s honorees. “The excellent skills our nurses possess and their dedication to their profession allow us to fulfill our dual mission as a tertiary hospital delivering highly complex healthcare and training Louisiana’s future healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Juzar Ali, Interim ILH CEO in an LSU-generated press release. “The ILH nurses selected to be among the Great 100 prove every day to be worthy of the honor.”

More than 1 million hip and knee replacements are performed each year in the United States, and that number is expected to increase as more and more men and women maintain active lifestyles. Ochsner Medical Center recently became a member of the American Joint Replacement Registry, an independent, nonprofit database designed to store comprehensive data about joint replacement procedures. It helps physicians and artificial joint manufacturers improve the experiences of patients who undergo joint replacement surgery. “We have always been committed to ensuring that our joint replacement patients have the best experiences possible,” said George Chimento M.D., Section Head of Joint Replacement at Ochsner Medical Center in a press release. “… We can help joint replacement procedures become safer nationwide, while optimizing our own patients’ experiences.”